FX may be leading the charge to downplay the morning after, but Sons of Anarchy's latest premiere ratings are nothing to ignore.

The seventh and final season of Kurt Sutter's biker gang opera fetched a whopping 6.2 million viewers last night during its inaugural telecast on Tuesday, September 9 evening. That's up from the previous live-plus-same-day record of 5.9 million viewers that tuned in for the 2013 premiere. Once just three days' worth of DVR viewing was tallied, that episode stood as the most-watched telecast in FX history with 8.3 million viewers, The Hollywood Reporter said.

If Sons of Anarchy's time-shifting trends keep up, and there's no reason to believe they won't, this episode will likely rise to the top — not that the network is sending out any boastful releases saying as much on Wednesday. (FX Networks president John Landgraf is really sticking to his guns in shrugging off the emphasis placed on live-plus-same-day ratings.)

Good news extends to the targeted adults 18-49 demographic. The episode nabbed a 3.2 rating with the set. Ignoring football, that's a number that won't likely be duplicated by any other telecast this week across the broadcast and cable dial. Even after-show Anarchy Afterward beat most everything on television last night, averaging a 1.4 rating with adults under 50.

Sons of Anarchy readies its FX exit as the biggest series in network history, and now it looks like it's going to go out on a high note.